Tutorial Letter: Guidelines for Examination Sales Management ... - imm
Tutorial Letter: Guidelines for Examination Sales Management (SALM) Sales Management 1 (SAM101) Semester One 2014 Dear Student This tutorial covers a brief outline of what to expect when approaching your Sales Management examination in May, as well as some brief notes as to areas that students have struggled with in the past. 1.
Examination paper layout
The May 2014 examination will be in the following format: Section A – Compulsory – Multiple-choice questions and filling in the missing words – 20 marks. There will be 10 multiple-choice questions, having a total mark allocation of 10 marks, covering the complete syllabus. Students perceive this section as easy, however the average mark awarded in this section in the past is 2 out of 10. It is important to please read the questions carefully, so please don’t rush through answering this section. There will also be 10 questions, worth 10 marks, where the student is required to fill in the missing words from a selection of words provided. This requires the student to insert the short responses/words provided to them to complete sentences constructed around particular concepts. Section B – In this section the student is required to choose four (4) out of the five (5) possible questions. Questions 2 to 6 are longer questions requiring both theory and application. The complete syllabus is important for the examination; students need to refer to both the prescribed textbook and learner guide when preparing for the examination; however students should pay particular attention to the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Relationship selling Relationship marketing Ethics Body language Prospecting
Page 2 of 2
6. Sales presentations 7. Customer objections 2.
Learnings from past examinations
Students have the misunderstanding that Sales Management is an examination you don’t have to study for as you can answer using your general knowledge; this is NOT the case. For example: QUESTION: Discuss the requirements of successful relationship selling. CORRECT GUIDELINE OF AN ANSWER:
Be customer centric – put the customer at the centre of everything that happens both inside and outside the organisation. Organisations that are customer centric have a high level of customer orientation. Put the customer at the centre of the universe – as without them you have no sales, no profits and ultimately no business. Focus on securing, building and maintaining long-term relationships with profitable customers; it is long-term orientated.
Please keep in mind we do not encourage parrot fashion learning, hence this is just a guideline to an answer; the markers will be open to accepting anything along these terms. INCORRECT APPROACH IN ANSWERING THIS QUESTION: Sales people should dress neatly, they should wash their hair and should not be late when meeting with their client. Lastly, students tend to misread the action verbs asked of them in the question. If you are asked to discuss or explain, please do not list as you won’t receive marks for simply listing facts. You may list in order to begin the discussion followed by an explanation and, if asked for, a practical example. It is very important that you read the action verb that is asked of you and answer accordingly. PLEASE NOTE: there is a spelling mistake on p. 108 of your learner guide, section 12.6, it mentions six major categories of objectives, but it should read the six major categories of objections. May we also remind you that we are always available to assist with academic queries. Academic queries should be submitted in writing to: [email protected]. Kind regards IMM GSM Team
© IMM Graduate School of Marketing Tutorial Letter
(SAM101/SALM)
Examination paper layout
The May 2014 examination will be in the following format: Section A – Compulsory – Multiple-choice questions and filling in the missing words – 20 marks. There will be 10 multiple-choice questions, having a total mark allocation of 10 marks, covering the complete syllabus. Students perceive this section as easy, however the average mark awarded in this section in the past is 2 out of 10. It is important to please read the questions carefully, so please don’t rush through answering this section. There will also be 10 questions, worth 10 marks, where the student is required to fill in the missing words from a selection of words provided. This requires the student to insert the short responses/words provided to them to complete sentences constructed around particular concepts. Section B – In this section the student is required to choose four (4) out of the five (5) possible questions. Questions 2 to 6 are longer questions requiring both theory and application. The complete syllabus is important for the examination; students need to refer to both the prescribed textbook and learner guide when preparing for the examination; however students should pay particular attention to the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Relationship selling Relationship marketing Ethics Body language Prospecting
Page 2 of 2
6. Sales presentations 7. Customer objections 2.
Learnings from past examinations
Students have the misunderstanding that Sales Management is an examination you don’t have to study for as you can answer using your general knowledge; this is NOT the case. For example: QUESTION: Discuss the requirements of successful relationship selling. CORRECT GUIDELINE OF AN ANSWER:
Be customer centric – put the customer at the centre of everything that happens both inside and outside the organisation. Organisations that are customer centric have a high level of customer orientation. Put the customer at the centre of the universe – as without them you have no sales, no profits and ultimately no business. Focus on securing, building and maintaining long-term relationships with profitable customers; it is long-term orientated.
Please keep in mind we do not encourage parrot fashion learning, hence this is just a guideline to an answer; the markers will be open to accepting anything along these terms. INCORRECT APPROACH IN ANSWERING THIS QUESTION: Sales people should dress neatly, they should wash their hair and should not be late when meeting with their client. Lastly, students tend to misread the action verbs asked of them in the question. If you are asked to discuss or explain, please do not list as you won’t receive marks for simply listing facts. You may list in order to begin the discussion followed by an explanation and, if asked for, a practical example. It is very important that you read the action verb that is asked of you and answer accordingly. PLEASE NOTE: there is a spelling mistake on p. 108 of your learner guide, section 12.6, it mentions six major categories of objectives, but it should read the six major categories of objections. May we also remind you that we are always available to assist with academic queries. Academic queries should be submitted in writing to: [email protected]. Kind regards IMM GSM Team
© IMM Graduate School of Marketing Tutorial Letter
(SAM101/SALM)
